Flight from Death
by WarmasterSamiel
Summary: YAHF One of the greatest wizards of all time gets a second chance at life.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The magic washed over the town and caused mayhem and destruction. The night became filled with monsters and other imaginary creatures.

As the magic reached one special person, the future of the world was irreversibly changed. The transformation of the boy began and the magic of Janus searched for the person he was to become. It searched across the world and beyond and found a match unusually quick.

The soul it found was damaged and thus immediately started to incorporate itself on the soul of the host, leading to a battle of wills between them. The host always has an advantage, since it's deeply connected with the body; it has the home turf so to speak. The host, named Alexander Lavelle Harris, also had some experience dealing with possession, in his case a bad meeting with a spirit of a hyena. Against most opponents this would be enough, especially as most people don't have much of an experience dealing with magic overall.

However, the being that possessed him was a clear exception. Not only had it been given a second chance at life, which it had no intention of giving up, but it had extensive knowledge and experience dealing with magic and most especially with possession and all things regarding the mind. I had no intention of sharing or negotiating with the host; it simply crushed the mind and soul of the host and claimed the body for itself.

The man laughed coldly into the night, all of the monsters and creatures in the neighborhood kept clear if him, their instincts screaming at them to leave at once.

The man felt a myriad of emotions, anger at being killed and the pathetic way it had happened, confusion to how he had survived but mostly just happiness. He had escaped the clutches of death himself, his soul was whole for the first time in almost 60 years.

Tom Marvolo Riddle strode through the night, his wand held casually in his right hand. A tempus charm had shown him that he had seemingly travelled back in time, but the memories of his vessel's former host had shown him things that didn't existed in his world. The most glaring difference was the Hellmouth, a dimensional portal to a hell dimension a well of incredible amounts of magic, surpassing even Hogwarts.

Riddle apparated to the portal, just before a redheaded ghost would have seen him.

XXXXXXX

For the rest of the night, Riddle sat in the crypt and studied the portal. His hold on the body was assured, so when the bust of Janus was broken, he just absently made a mental note of it and continued his study.

The energy could be used in several rituals to increase ones magical strength. However, there was potential for so much more than just a simple power ritual. But every ritual needed to be carefully prepared and preformed; it wasn't anything you rushed with. The memories he had gained also showed him different ways of using magic, not with a wand but more ritualistic ways.

He suddenly noted that his wand had become a normal stick of wood. He cursed as he realized that he had forgotten to anchor its existence, this was a serious setback. He had some minor skills with wandless magic, but nowhere near his proficiency with a wand. He would need to train and perform some minor rituals to make his magic more easily accessible, he absolutely refused to be eaten by some minor demonic leech.

First on his list to do would be to create a temporary magical focus and make sure nobody noticed or questioned his change of personality. He was a wizard, he would never degrade himself as this pathetic muggle had done.

As he went back to the muggle's home he thought about his plans for the future. He would obviously need a new way to stop death; the old idea of splitting his soul had several downsides, the biggest being increasing his mental instability. Perhaps this 'Hellmouth' might be used to something more than just increasing my magical strength, he mused as he laid down on the muggle bed with a frown on his face.

But no matter what, this time he would not be defeated. He would not allow any threat or prophecy stop him this time, if magical attacks didn't work then poison or a dagger would suffice. This was his rebirth, his chance to ascend beyond any limits, to settle all scores in the end. For he was Lord Voldemort!

End chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2

AN: New chapter, its longer, better and with a nice twist in it that I don't think anybody had suspected. As always feedback is appreciated, it helps me make my stories better.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 2

The following day, after spinning an appropriate tale of his 'adventures' last night, was spent scanning the minds of the people around him. Internal magic, such as legilimency and occlumency was still up to his normal standards, which helped immensely in his information gathering.

Among the weak muggles he found a few useful gems, 'his' best friend Willow, the librarian Rupert Giles, the Slayer and the computer teacher Ms. Calendar. Most others were ignorant of the true nature of the world and its' inhabitants, causing him to sneer inwardly in disgust.

His new body's associates where expected for their knowledge of the supernatural and potential useful service to him, Ms. Calendar was a surprise, there was apparently more to her than one could guess at first sight. When he had scanned deeper into her mind he had discovered her status as a fellow mage and her true name, Janna Kalderash. Her powers and connections into the romany clans could help him build his powerbase much faster.

But to secure her loyalty and obedience, he would definitely need a wand or a similar focus. While he had learned how to control people before even going to Hogwarts, it was not permanent and could be fought if used to long or often. To craft a wand one would need knowledge and experience, but also magical material that would form the core of the wand. Unfortunately, he wasn't a wandcrafter and knew almost nothing of how the different materials worked or how they should be combined with the different kinds of wood. Then there was the issue of just acquiring the need materials, of which he had no idea of how to do, since this new world might not have those he was used to and Xander had never felt the need to ask the Watcher.

Luckily the dark arts offered many solutions to getting around such obstacles, provided one was willing to pay the price, which varied greatly depending on the goal and the approach. His mastery of Occlumency had perfected his memory recall and therefore helped him remember all of his studies into the dark arts, rituals and all the different kinds of runes and their functions that existed.

By using his own blood as the core he could create a weaker wand that could help him focus his magic. The wand needed to be bigger and thicker than usual; the runes inscribed would be for controlling, containing, strengthening, regulating, diluting and focusing. It wouldn't be able to channel his full might, but could be used for the more delicate actions. Blood is everything, it contained the very essence of his power, and the sheer force he could unleash through it would leave the mightiest of demons in awe. There was after all a reason why had been so feared back in his dimension.

It unfortunately also meant that the wood in his proto-wand would shatter when he unleashed too much power. The runes would increase the amount he could channel and also keeping the magic stable.

After the lessons of the day were over, he walked into the library and nicked the books on demons that the Watcher had stashed away. It was, after acquiring a magical focus, essential that he quickly learned what kind of creatures existed in this dimension. His own arcane knowledge was substantial and would suffice for the moment and after gaining control over the Scooby-gang he could use them to research further into the differences in magic between this dimension and his old one.

The control over the Scooby-gang needed to be done quickly before they realized the threat to posed.

* * *

><p>It wasn't until later that night when he realized that his mind was so clear for the first time since he was young. The Horcruxes had had more of an effect on him than he had thought. He had lost sight of his goal and had become obsessed with powers and eliminating the opposition.<p>

For the first time since he was eleven, he was afraid and admitted it to himself. He had lost control; he had become weak in mind and soul. He had gone from genius and charming leader to a power crazy monster, he had even looked the part with the snake parts. It shocked him how his actions had changed from persuasion and cunning ruthlessness to simple and brutal actions, never questioning himself or reflecting on how to improve his approach.

He couldn't risk splitting his soul again, nor could he make his decisions completely alone without input from his followers. Had he actually done so, his loyal minions could have killed, or at least heavily wounded Harry Potter. He should have avoided to stubbornly using the killing curse on him again and again, despite the lack of any effect.

He started to move again from where he had stopped. As he entered his home he 'pushed' his magic into the two filthy muggles, easily making them ignore him and his actions. He walked down into the basement and started to construct his new wand, while continuing to reflect on his past actions.

While the mere thought of divination and prophecies filled him with severe homicidal urges, he needed to learn from his past mistakes. Surprisingly, the memories of the muggle he possessed gave him a new angle to the issue. The boy had managed to subvert the death of the Slayer, despite her fate; it proved that prophecies could be worked around. The boy had also many interesting thoughts on how to neutralize an enemy without killing them, the rewards of a comic book obsession. While he normally wouldn't even consider using anything muggle, his defeat and returned sanity helped him see things more objectively.

'Now, how to deal with my little 'friends', they can't be allowed to realize my true identity, they might alert to many of my existence' he thought. 'With my wand I should be able to enthrall them easily, the Slayer might require more delicate work, but she is not a witch.'

He also remembered that he needed to deal with a certain british author, that couldn't be allowed to publish any more books about him. So far he had been incredibly lucky, the first book didn't mentioned his real name or background, and even more importantly they didn't mention anything about his abilities and powers, the imperius curse remained unknown.

He sighed as he realized the vast amount of issues that needed to be dealt with, both mundane and magical. It hit him that he needed a trusted lieutenant to help him establish himself in this new world, but that would be next to impossible since he needed to control every useful tool with charms and runes. It would need further pondering on later, he decided and turned back his attention on his soon to be magical focus.

* * *

><p>The next day, at the end of the computer class, he waited until the rest of the students had left the classroom before walking gracefully towards the teacher, Ms. Calendar.<p>

She looked up as he neared her and asked "Xander, is there something I can do for you?"

He smiled at her with a cold predatory look in his eyes. He started to gather his magic as he answered her. "Yes, my dear Janna, there is something you can for me. Now kindly obey me _imperio_"

She barely had time to react to the use of her true name, before his spell impacted her and dominated her mind. A feeling of euphoria spread through her and a pleasant voice told her to obey him fully. Normally this would have been enough for Voldemort, but in this case he couldn't afford to take any unnecessary risks whatsoever. He continued to point his wand at her and accentuated carefully each syllable of the spell, _Servum Facio._

The enthrallment curse pushed into her mind and soul and bound her to him. The bond's strength was determined by the magic of the caster and the servant, which made it harder for Janna to resist, since Voldemort was the strongest wizard to walk this Earth combined with the fact that she didn't possess internal magic as he did. The curse molded her mind to forever serve him and only he, the mere thought of betraying him sent her mind reeling by the agony it caused, it would have gone against the core of her very existence.

"What can I do for you my master?" She asked with an awed voice, sinking to her knees with a fanatic glint in her eyes.

Smiling coldly at the successful enthrallment, Voldemort replied in a powerful voice "You will gather all the tomes and books of magic that you possess. You will then help me understand it all. You shall also gather as much information as possible about the different warlocks and witches in the world; I want to know about all potential threats and competitors. Do this and I shall reward you with my mark." He finished grandly.

Janna nodded and answered with great zeal "Thy will be done my Lord" and hurriedly walked out of the classroom and towards her home to immediately start with her assigned tasks.

With the romany witch dealt with, he proceeded towards the library and the rest of his future servants. They would all bow down before the might of Lord Voldemort.

* * *

><p>As he approached the library he mentally prepared himself for the inevitable fight that would come. He held no illusions that the Slayer hadn't noticed his recent use of magic.<p>

He stopped outside the doors to the library and used his mastery of Occlumency to make his mind as sharp as a razor and his magic focused. With a deep breath he burst through the doors and started his spellcasting.

"_stupefy, stupefy_" he said calmly. Normally he would have used nonverbal casting, but with his inferior wand the extra focus brought by the words was needed to prevent it from shattering.

The spells hit their intended targets and both Willow and Giles was neutralized from the fight. With a slight turn of his body Voldemort pointed his wand towards Buffy, who had reacted quickly and was rapidly approaching him. A flick with his wand banished a nearby table at her and smashed her into the wall. He strode towards her and prepared to cast the imperius curse.

It was only because of his magically enhanced reflexes that he was able to evade the attack from behind. At the last second, he threw himself to the side, while turning around. He cursed himself under his breath as Angel's punched barely missed his head. He realized that he had subconsciously ignored the possibility that a filthy nonhuman could ever be a threat.

While he berated himself for his folly, his wand flicked towards the cursed vampire and used a bludgeoning spell to slam him harshly into a bookcase. He followed up with a _petrificus totalus_ to take him out of the fight.

Hearing sounds of wood breaking he twirled around and intoned clearly "_Levicorpus_," wrenching Buffy into the air by her right ankle. He quickly followed up with another stunning spell making her body go limp.

The entire fight had taken less than 20 seconds from the first spell he had casted. Just as he started to relax his guard, the sound of a gasp behind him had him twist around to see Cordelia Chase's stunned look. Without waiting for her to do anything further, he raised his wand and said smoothly "_Imperio._"

After mentally counting the number of people he had neutralized, he relaxed, he had at last gotten them all. He certainly hadn't expected the pet vampire to be there already, though in hindsight it was understandable. His changed nature might have tipped them off that he hadn't told them the truth regarding Halloween.

As he closed the doors and sealed them with a _colloportus_, he reflected once again on his past mistakes on his old homeworld, while putting everyone in the room under the enthrallment curse. The power of Love, he snorted. He could admit now that his mind was saner, that he had underestimated how much his enemies were ruled by their emotions. It wasn't any spectacular power that had defeated him in the end though; he had already circumvented the sacrifice by the brat's mother by then. No, his mistake was to trust Snape, who was in truth only loyal to himself. That and that he should have blasted Potter's head with a _confringo_, the blasting curse should have fixed the problem.

But in all honesty, there was no reason it shouldn't have worked, the avada kedavra doesn't hurt the physical body, it destroys the soul. The fact that Potter survived multiple times indicated that something had interfered. It couldn't reasonably be the fact that the mother sacrificed herself, since he had killed entire families before without any survivors. The prophecy and whatever power that made it must have caused the event, there was no other alternative.

There was however a silver lining. The memories from the weak muggle he possessed showed him that prophecies could be tricked and side-stepped, as he had managed to save the life of the Slayer, despite her 'destiny' to die that night. It proved that if he managed to get back to his old dimension, he could settle all scores without any worry about a potential prophecy. It amused him quite a bit to realize that a muggle had taught him the most valuable advice regarding Fate, that we make our own futures. Was he not Lord Voldemort, the defeater of Death himself? From this moment forward, he would not be directed by anyone or anything but himself.

Done with his inner reflections, he returned his focus on the Slayer and her vampire. The enthrallment worked, but sadly not completely permanent, the nature of the Slayer-spirit fought against his control harshly. He solved it by first 'obliviating' the recent memories of his attack on her, he then followed up with a strong _confundus_, which stopped her higher brain functions, making it much harder to resist the enthrallment and imperius.

The vampire on the other hand was remarkably easy to bring under his control; it was likely because of the presence of a soul, which was much easier to control than the demon.

With them all dealt with he started to assign them their tasks. Giles and Willow was ordered to write down all that they knew about the nature of magic and the different kinds of rituals and spells that existed. They were ordered to continue their research in the library as long and as fast as possible.

Buffy and Angel were ordered to hunt down any magic users in the town and to secure all their tomes and tools. They were also ordered to chart the different factions in the area and the possible threat they possessed.

Cordelia was ordered to lead the way to her parents so he could enthrall them and thus get access to their material wealth, which would aid him immensely.

With his new servant dealt with, he left the school together with the muggle Cordelia.

* * *

><p>"<em>Excudo<em>"

"_Confringo_"

The two spells struck the ground in a powerful impact that rattled the nearby windows. The two sorcerers stood facing each others, the contrast between them clear. One was an elder man with a warm and polite face, but with eyes radiating power and a ruthless determination. He was clad in a dark robe covered in protective sigils, his artifacts nearby to strengthen and aid him. His right hand was pointing toward his opponent, having just unleashed a blast of magic.

Facing him stood a young man barely out of his teens, but with a presence that radiated pure, dark power. His magic spoke of dominance and unending ambition, of greatness and age, it showed that this wasn't a young man stumbling into his powers, but rather an old man filled with experience. He was also clothed in dark robes, but with different sigils and runes, magic that was new and unknown to his enemy. His wand slimmer, yet more robust then before pointed slightly into the air, ready to unleash its' owners might.

"Well gosh, I never expected another warlock to just pop up out of nowhere." Mayor Wilkins said with a jovial tone, though his eyes showed his displeasure.

"It does not matter; you are nothing to my might." Voldemort said with a cold, superior smirk. "You might have lived slightly then myself, but you haven't grown during that time, while I have never stopped growing more powerful."

"Enough!" The Mayor shouted, no longer acting carefree and pleasant. "You will not be allow to interfere with my plans and my property any longer, die!"

"Fool! You are no match to Lord Voldemort."

The Mayor launched a ball of fire, which Voldemort caught with the tip of his wand, decreasing it in size and then transforming it into a fire-whip, which he launched towards the Mayor. Being surprised by the advanced magic preformed, he was too late to completely shield himself, making one of his sigils burn out to protect him.

Immediately taking his opponent more serious, Wilkins changed the fire into ash and launched a bolt of lightning towards Voldemort, who quickly shielded himself in a bronze coloured dome, the impact causing a gong-like sound.

"_Avis, Oppugno_" A flock of crows were created and immediately started to attack. Another wave of his wand and several snakes were conjured and ordered to attack with a hiss of parseltongue. He then finished off with a flurry of dark cutting curses. While he had managed to make a better wand for himself, it still couldn't handle to much magic, making the more powerful curses in his arsenal unusable.

"_Excudo_"

The concussive blast crushed the snakes, while another blast of lightning fried the birds to death. A magical shield was form by his left hand, which soaked up the cutting curses. He simultaneously launched a stream of lightning with his right hand.

Voldemort diverted the stream into the ground while wandlessly banishing small rocks at a high velocity. The two continued to trade curses, both trying out different ways to eliminate their opponent. They both had a few disadvantages, Wilkins could only use more generalized magic attacks, though still quite powerful, while Voldemort was limited in the amount of power he could use.

While he cursed the fact that he fought alone against this formidable enemy, his pet Slayer was busy hunting down every nonhuman in the entire town together with his pet vampire. There was of course also the fact that all the magic being thrown around could weaken his hold on her.

The two continued to trade spells for about a minute until Voldemort called out.

"Your powers are formidable and could have served me well. It is unfortunate that you are too much of a risk to take control of; I applaud you for your accomplishments though."

With that, Voldemort quickly apparated from his position to just behind Wilkins, and casted a powerful disintegration curse into his back. To the Mayor's credit, despite his surprised at the teleportation he managed to turn around and start on a shield, when the curse hit.

As the body of Richard Wilkins was turned into dust, with Voldemort standing next to him smiling in triumph, a woman walked out of the shadows and knelt before the remaining mage.

"My Lord, I have accomplished my mission. All of Wilkins' magical tomes have been collected."

"Excellent. You have done well Janna. Now, let us go back to the library and our studies."

"Your will be done, my Lord."

* * *

><p>Time went by and more and more vampires fled from the Hellmouth, spreading rumors of the terrible Slayer. Buffy and Angel continued with the extermination of all things nonhuman, cleansing the town of all filth, as their master and lord put it. The Order of Taraka was hired through Voldemort's loyal witch and killed the author JK Rowling, which 'coincidently' caused all of her written work to be destroyed<p>

Voldemort's studies into the magic of the new world bore fruit as his knowledge soared. He began to plan for several rituals to increase his powers and existence, to prepare his being for the eventual godhood. The greatest accomplishment however, was the capture of the warlock Ethan Rayne, who was fleeing the demon Eyghon.

After ripping apart Ethan's mind to retrieve every scrap of knowledge he possessed, Voldemort decided to start his rituals ahead of schedule.

* * *

><p>The ritual took place in the library, now converted into the headquarters of the mightiest wizard on Earth. One circle was placed directly on top of the Hellmouth, filled with runes and symbols with a redheaded girl in the middle on the floor. Standing above her was Voldmort, his chest bare and covered with symbols. Next to the circle was a smaller circle with a bust of Janus and a dark haired girl in the middle.<p>

Several muggle bodies was placed around the main circle, all freshly killed with their blood flowing towards the center. Rupert Giles and Janna Kalderash gazed with fanatic awe towards their master, both standing clear of the circles and the blood.

Before he initiated the ritual, Voldemort looked at the girl beneath him, musing on his sacrifice of her. Willow had been easy to control and an excellent tool, her help with his research had been invaluable. Sadly, her magical potential was too great to be wasted on a mere tool; it would serve him much better.

'The power of Love, the power I know not.' He thought and snorted mentally. There was after all a reason why he never used any of that kind of power. The main characteristic of love is the willingness to sacrifice _yourself_ for someone or something else. And by doing that your time is up and you will not be able to accomplish anything more. You can't lead a revolution by sacrificing only yourself, you must have the willingness to sacrifice others, Voldemort thought.

By that same reasoning, a person who uses love as his power can't use any power enchanting rituals, since they work by sacrificing something that is not oneself. That reassured him immensely since it meant that Potter would never manage to increase his magical powers. Add the fact that Potter never seemed to be that motivated to become a better wizard; Voldemort laughed in his mind, there would truly be no threat if he ever returned there.

Finished with his internal reflection Voldemort returned his attention on his surroundings.

"This marks my first step towards my ascension to godhood. I have conquered death and fate, I have bested all who would try to deny me and I will crush all that will try to hinder me. I am the greatest wizard to ever walk this or any other Earth; it is simply natural that I reach higher until I become a God of all magic." Voldemort proclaimed grandly, his eyes shining with power and ruthless determination. "To all my enemies seek not to bar my way, for I will win through, no matter the cost."

Finishing his speech he started the ritual. The life and potential of Willow Rosenberg flowed into his being as the blood from the slaughtered muggles channeled the power from their death. Magic swirled around him in a whirlwind, pure magical power seeped into his very being from everywhere, the Hellmouth, the sacrifices, the earth, the sky and from the girl. He screamed as his magical core was continually being destroyed and rebuilt, each time stronger than before. His physical body was torn apart, only to be rebuilt to the appearance his old body before his first 'death, his soul sculpting it into the right form.

His loyal slaves sank to their feet, their minds frozen in awe to the glorious sight, as their bonds to their master was strengthened until they became an extension of his will. They gazed with eyes filled with loyalty, love, adoration, awe and respect, but mostly deep fanatic worship. He was their God and they his faithful worshipers.

His body and being was slowly starting to slow down their rapid circle of destruction and reconstruction. The bodies of the muggles and Willow had turned into ash, their existence destroyed for eternity, sacrificed so that one man could continue his dream towards godhood.

With the immense energies he now commanded, Voldemort gathered all that swirled around him and directed it towards Cordelia Chase in the other circle, the magic crushing the bust of Janus, as it was no longer needed. Neither was any costume needed to trigger the change.

Cordelia Chase's existence came to an end as another woman was brought into a new existence. Voldemort made the change permanent with his new powers.

The ritual done, Voldemort paused as he examined his new being. He smiled in triumph as he felt the control he commanded over reality and the staggering amount of magic he now could bring to heel. He then turned his eyes towards the unconscious woman that used to be a weak muggle girl. He laughed. His laughter spoke of triumph and glory, of power and might, and of his promise of greatness.

His laughter roused the woman from her rest, eyes blinking as she took in her surroundings, mouth open in astonished awe as she gazed upon the man standing in front of her. She whispered weakly. "M-my Lord?" Her voice weak, but containing a spark of hope.

"Welcome back to the living Bellatrix."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Surprised? Voldemort looks like he did before his first defeat against HP, meaning not looking like mr. Snakeman<strong>


End file.
